Possibility of toll-lane considered for Route 3

A plan to have a public-private partnership add toll lanes on Route 3 in both directions is being considered by a state commission.

Fred Hanson The Patriot Ledger @Fhanson_Ledger

BOSTON – Stop and go, or pay and get there faster.

Route 3 motorists might be offered that choice, because the idea of building toll lanes along the frequently clogged highway is being considered by a state commission exploring public and private partnerships that could improve the state’s transportation system. Two other possibilities are being looked at: leasing state land along highways and building a third bridge over the Cape Cod Canal.

Edward Corcoran, a Milton lawyer and a former state highway official, said partnerships are being used in other parts of the country to get highway projects built.

“You need to add capacity to Route 3 south, and the state is not going to have the money for it for at least a generation,” Corcoran said.

The state would lease land to a private partner, who would design and build the roadway. The partner would then collect tolls, with the revenue covering the cost of building and maintaining the road. The toll system would use electronic transponders.

Corcoran and contractor J.F. White are part of a group interested in taking on the work.

“We think there are enough people – either out of convenience or necessity – who would pay for this new lane” and cover the construction and the maintenance costs, Corcoran said.

He estimated the cost of adding a lane in each direction from Braintree to the Route 53 exit at $400 million. Fifteen bridges would have to be modified, he said.

Corcoran estimates that 10 to 15 percent of Route 3 motorists would be willing to pay to get around the traffic.

Drivers in the non-toll lanes would get the benefit of reduced traffic and be able to “move a little more quickly,” he said.

The lanes could be added all the way to the Route 14 interchange, according to a report done for the state.

Corcoran said the state is working on setting up a bidding process to select a partner.

Although local officials have expressed interest in the idea, they said they would need to know a lot more before they support it.

“It’s a very interesting proposal,” said state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth. “It’s no cost to the taxpayer. It’s a way to add some capacity that otherwise won’t be built in our lifetime.”

But Hedlund added, “The devil is in the details.”

State Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, said he wonders if the toll lanes would come at the expense of other needed transportation projects, such as additional parking in Braintree and Quincy and commuter rail improvements.

“I’d like to see more,” Cutler said.

Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said a key question is whether the toll lanes could link to the high-occupancy lanes on the Southeast Expressway.

Sullivan said the state must look at more than just toll roads to meet the area’s transportation needs.

“It’s got to be a comprehensive plan,” said Sullivan, a former chairman of the Legislature’s transportation committee.